nextcloud/server · error · InvalidArgumentException

User $user is unknown

Error message

User $user is unknown

What it means

InvalidArgumentException from the occ dav:clear-calendar-unshares command when the required uid argument does not match an existing user (userManager->userExists() returns false). The command aborts before touching the calendar share database.

Source

Thrown at apps/dav/lib/Command/ClearCalendarUnshares.php:60

		private SharingMapper $mapper,
	) {
		parent::__construct();
	}

	#[\Override]
	protected function configure(): void {
		$this->addArgument(
			'uid',
			InputArgument::REQUIRED,
			'User whose unshares to clear'
		);
	}

	#[\Override]
	protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int {
		$user = (string)$input->getArgument('uid');
		if (!$this->userManager->userExists($user)) {
			throw new \InvalidArgumentException("User $user is unknown");
		}

		$principal = $this->principal->getPrincipalByPath('principals/users/' . $user);
		if ($principal === null) {
			throw new \InvalidArgumentException("Unable to fetch principal for user $user ");
		}

		$shares = $this->mapper->getSharesByPrincipals([$principal['uri']], 'calendar');
		$unshares = array_filter($shares, static fn ($share) => $share['access'] === BackendAlias::ACCESS_UNSHARED);

		if (count($unshares) === 0) {
			$output->writeln("User $user has no calendar unshares");
			return self::SUCCESS;
		}

		$rows = array_map(fn ($share) => $this->formatCalendarUnshare($share), $shares);

		$table = new Table($output);

View on GitHub (pinned to ecdeb153ff)

Solutions

1. List valid ids with occ user:list and re-run with the exact id
2. Verify a single user with occ user:info <uid> first
3. In automation, resolve the uid from your directory/LDAP source before invoking the command

Example fix

# before
occ dav:clear-calendar-unshares jdoe@example.com
# after: use the exact user id (see occ user:list)
occ user:list
occ dav:clear-calendar-unshares jdoe

#!/bin/bash
uid="$1"
if ! occ user:info "$uid" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  echo "unknown user: $uid" >&2; exit 1
fi
occ dav:clear-calendar-unshares "$uid"

When it happens

Trigger: Running occ dav:clear-calendar-unshares <uid> where uid is misspelled, is an email address instead of the user id, contains wrong case, or refers to a deleted user.

Common situations: Automation scripts passing the mail address where the backend user id is expected; LDAP-provisioned users whose id differs from the visible name; copy-paste of uids from a different environment.

Related errors

• User <$userId> not found.
• User <$userId> not found.
• Unable to fetch principal for user $user
• User <$user> in unknown.
• User <$user> in unknown.

AI-assisted analysis of nextcloud/server@ecdeb153ff (2026-08-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8da1560f38c16db3. Report an issue: GitHub.